And she apologized. To everyone.
Three months ago, a negligent cyclist, was traveling towards me, both of us on bicycles, on a very wide bike path/road. Completely unexpectatatly within ten feet of me, she turned directly in my path while looking down at something. She had to see me coming as the road was straight for a very long ways and to avoid hitting her, I took evasive action which resulted in my having a very nasty crash. The results of which I am still suffering from. Her immeadiate response was to say she was sorry. Sorry; Sorry for being Stupid, Sorry for being negligent, Sorry for causing injury? Her being sorry has not stopped the pain, her being sorry did not stop the bleeding, her being sorry DOES NOT STOP ANYTHING!
It is sad when someone breaks the rules, even when that person or you may disagree with the rules. Athletes are held to a higher standard as they should be. Yes I may be slower than her, but my body is free of EPO even though it might make me a prospective champion in the national Senior Olympics. The rules are there because this is not only not legal, it may be destructive if abused.
Being sorry for breaking established rules does not make her right. Being faster than me does not make her breaking the rules right. It is her responsibility to know the rules, it is her responsibility to follow the rules, even if those rules are not something you or others don’t agree with.
It is said that one can apologize for a speaking a nasty word, but one can never remove that word from the mind of that person who was spoken too. One can apologize for breaking the rules, but to those who look up to her, the fact that she broke the rules, that she in some way cheated can never be erased from their thoughts.
(and yes, any form of pain killer can be used to cause a false recovery from extreme exertion.)